15 Things That Would Happen If A Country Used Nuclear Weapons

With all this talk about nuclear weapons and atomic bombs, it gets us all thinking. What would happen if someone actually fired a nuclear weapon? We play games like Fallout and watch movies involving nuclear weapons and radiation. But do we really know anything about it? Would you be frozen for hundreds of years while things calmed down? Would the government take everyone under their wing and shelter them ahead of time? Would the infected run around like zombies, hungry for human flesh? Not exactly, but it’s not that far off.

For years, it’s been so unlikely that a weapon would be used that would cause radiation. This is due to the treaty in 1996, known as the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Obama enforced this, believing that a world without nuclear weapons was a more peaceful one. But with all this talk in the news about nuclear weapons and upgrades, it’s safe to say that things could change. Nuclear weapons aren’t like hurricanes and natural disasters. They are created by humans. You can’t blame humans for Harvey, but you can blame them for the bombing of Hiroshima.

There are many things that will happen, things people will do, and things you should know in case of nuclear weapons being used today. Like, you know, remain calm, wear a hazmat mask, and collect bottle caps, right? More or less. How about we just take a look at these fifteen things that would happen if a country used a nuclear weapon.

15 They Wouldn’t Be The Only One – World War III

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Let’s just say that there’s no such thing as “one country” launching a nuclear weapon. As I said, even though the treaty has not been put into legal action and wasn’t signed by many, there’s still something that has remained unsaid. There is an unspoken truce between countries that neither will use nuclear weapons. The US and North Korea seem like they might break this, but they’ve yet to do anything. However, if one country launched a nuclear bomb, you can be sure they wouldn’t be the only one.

Country after country, whether it be North Korea, Japan, the US, or Russia, would follow. Nuclear wars are not pretty, and they are not something we need to see. But if one weapon is used… that means the world is free to use whatever they want. World War III may show its head.

14 Everyone Would Use A Nuke Map

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Recently, due to the talk between world leaders, people have been worried about getting nuked. As a result, one man made a map that would determine the AoE (area of effect) and number of casualties if a given bomb was dropped in a specific area. This useful and frightening tool is called NukeMap. You can use it today, but of course, this is only an estimation. If a bomb were dropped, we’d have more information and more details on everything that would happen if another dropped.

We can only guess what the next bomb could be like. It could be bigger than the biggest bomb on the list today. If a country used a nuclear weapon, then you can bet the majority of the population would be downloading one of the many available Nuke Maps. Much like the hurricane trackers many keep on their phones, nuke simulators would be increasingly common.

13 Ten Minutes

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Ten minutes is how long a location would have before the bomb hit. We have certain tools that can detect missiles and nuclear weapons, but at most, we’d have ten minutes to prepare. The government would no doubt warn people of this whenever they knew, but that wouldn’t give you time to get to a shelter, as the streets would be packed.

Besides, warning everyone is not that easy. In fact, the government says if they were issued with a warning at midnight, it would take about eight hours to warn just half of the population. If it were in the evening, when everyone was up and milling about, it would take less time. But I doubt that any country will drop a bomb at a “convenient” time.

12 1,000,000 May Be Lost Almost Immediately

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If the largest “known” nuclear bomb was used, it’s likely about a million would die within a week's time, probably more, as most of the million would die within ten seconds. Furthermore, about 700,000 would be injured. That’s if it were dropped on a city like San Antonio. Imagine a death toll in the millions. We can say it, but can we really imagine it? The Hiroshima bombing killed 70,000 people in five seconds. The Indiana Ocean earthquake killed over 200,000 on seven hours. The last time 1,000,000 people died within a week was during the Black Death Plague of the 1300s, where half of the European population died in a four-year time span.

So, in truth, depending on the size of the bomb, we’d have no idea how many men, women, and children would die the day of the bombing from the initial blast alone. The tragedy is unimaginable.

11 Rise In Crime Rates

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When chaos ensues, so does crime. People will roam free the moment things get out of hand. When shopkeepers get sloppy and cops have bigger fish to fry, the “petty criminals” get left behind and forgotten. While those with a good head on their shoulders will be preparing, protecting their families, and getting information about the disaster, others will use this moment to do terrible things. Those who are prone to thieving and violence will see a window of opportunity.

When chaos is surrounding them, these people will seize the opportunity to r*pe, steal, and kill like never before. This applies especially to people in areas that have not yet been hit. People wouldn't be in immediate danger, but the panic would be enough to make people not just worry, but also wreak havoc. This is when we’ll see everyone’s true colors.

10 Nations Would Collapse

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When all you have is one arm, a syringe of life-saving formula, a baby on your lap and an “enemy” at your side, what would you do? Chances are that the person you once saw as an enemy would be the person you would now turn to for help. The moment when a world-ending event takes places, you’ll see that the countries will fall, and humanity will rise as one. There will be murder, there will be hate. But as the government will fall, people will become more human than ever.

With crime rates rising, we will look to each other with similar hearts to lend us a hand. No government will remain in control, but each person will become their own new government. Even if just one atomic bomb were dropped, things would change. We would stick together and protect one another.

9 Evacuation Havoc

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Just so you know, there are no official evacuation plans set for a fallout. City mayors, government officials, the police department, and civilians would go crazy figuring out what to do with the survivors. Let's imagine that a small bomb the size of the one that hit Hiroshima hit Houston. An estimated 35,000 people would die almost immediately. Then we have about 100,000 severely injured. But there would still be hundreds of thousands more people devastated by the damage it would cause. The initial blast would be just the beginning.

The truth is that we are so underprepared due to the truces that have been made. The hurricanes have taken their toll and despite evacuations, many people died as a result. You can’t just evacuate five million people instantly. Generally, for an average city, it would take no less than 72 hours to evacuate. But with larger cities who aren’t prepared, it could even take weeks.

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8 Treatment Would Be Foreign – And "Zombies" Would Come Alive

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Medical professionals aren’t trained to treat radiation patients. They are taught to use radiation to treat cancer, but they would have no idea what to do to help those with radiation poisoning, those who we see in our minds as “zombies."

The first thing that would happen to those most affected by the blast is that they would experience the beginning stages of blindness (if they were looking directly at the blast when it happened). Secondly, they would have horrible radiation burns. Most people near the blast would be affected by surface burns, but others would receive deep radiation burns that would spread throughout their entire body. The possible side effects of radiation poisoning are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and more. The “zombie” effect is caused when people experience extreme lethargy. These people will have red eyes and will experience delirium, which will cause them to hallucinate, experience convulsions that cause their muscles to involuntarily spasm, and they may even become violent. However, unlike zombies, these people will most likely fall into a coma and eventually die.

7 Fallout Shelters Would Become A Thing – And They Would Stock Up

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If that first weapon hits, we know that it will only the beginning, and thus, millions of people would start preparing. Not only would this mean building vaulted basements, but much more. You’ve seen what happens to grocery stores when hurricane warnings are in effect. So what would happen when they may need to stock up for weeks or months, rather than hours? When a new type of disaster strikes, people will buy out the stores. And what about the store owners? Would they be willing to stick around? Would the businesses close down and leave people to ransack whatever remained?

6 Healthcare Would Change As We Know It

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When medical attention is necessary, things get a little complicated. For one, the hospitals would be severely affected. Healthcare workers aren’t immune to these kinds of disasters either. Quarantines would be set into place and followed as closely as possible. Much like in times of war, who one is caring for would not be of importance. Places like the Red Cross would take over. People would take care of people as much as possible, given the circumstances.

But, currency would not be the same. The power would most likely be shut down, and money would become meaningless. The hospitals would probably try to help as many people as possible while giving attention to those who needed it most, but it would be utterly chaotic. The cities under the brunt of the attack would look like towns that were affected during the major World Wars.

5 Infectious Diseases Would Ensue

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When we think about the fallout, we think about radiation damage, but there’s so much more than that. The explosion would not only harm us, but it would possibly take the power out and explode electronics. With the new radiation poisoning “zombifying” people, old diseases might resurface. Dysentery, typhoid, infectious hepatitis, salmonellosis, cholera, meningococcal meningitis, tuberculosis, diphtheria, whooping cough, polio, and pneumonia would make an appearance. Each of these have killed at least one million people, while most have killed up to 20 million. Now, imagine each of these rising to the surface all at once.

If this happened, the bombing would be the least of our worries. If everyone kept a cool head and clean surroundings, this wouldn’t happen. But predictions say that these diseases would come back, as people would generally pay less attention to health and cleanliness during such an extreme emergency. When chaos is surrounding you, it’s hard to remember everything the doctors have ever told us.

4 Shampoo, But No Conditioner

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This is the most random piece of information we have, but what it means for your survival is pretty important. If a bomb would hit and you remained uninjured, you would be advised by the government to pack up all of the clothes you were wearing. That is, if you were within range of the radiation. You would tie the clothes in a plastic sack and take them away from any form of life. It is said that taking off just your outer layer of clothing can get rid of 90% of the radiation you were exposed to.

After you strip down, you need to take a shower. Use shampoo and soap very gently. Scratching could lead to an infection. You would gently use shampoo to get rid of the residue in your hair. However, you would not under any circumstance use conditioner. The conditioner would bind the radioactive material together, making it nearly impossible to wash out. The more you know!

3 It Would Spread

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If a large bomb would be dropped, around a million people would die. The truth is that this would only be the beginning. Without human involvement, the radiation would spread hundreds of miles with the help of the wind. With human interaction, it would spread further and faster. Radioactive materials would be carried on clothing, cars, and human skin. We’ve spoken of the radiation damage, but what about how quickly the radiation would spread beyond the area of impact? We all know that radiation poisoning is indirectly contagious. Radioactive particles spread like pollen in the spring time.

Just imagine the plane rides, the cargo ships, the people boarding who are carrying the particles that they have no idea will take death and suffering to another land. What could be contained to one city will no doubt be spread throughout the entire country (and beyond) because of ignorance. Some of it cannot be stopped, but so much can be prevented by taking proper precautions.

2 Government Sites Would Explode

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The website ready.gov already has information on what American residents should do in case of a nuclear blast. However, everyone would be frantically Googling what to do, not trusting anyone’s information but their own. People won’t have time to write articles on what to do in this extreme situation. Government sites will run for as long as they are able, and hopefully they would provide some guidance until the internet would become inaccessible.

More than likely, they will crash within days as everyone searches the internet, waiting for updates and looking up information. They will be scared, lost, and looking for answers. They will look to the government immediately, though as we have already discussed, internet access may not last long. Let’s just hope that as many people as possible would be able to find this necessary information online.

1 Immigration

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As previously noted, with the fall of government, there will be a union like never before. There will be war and hate, but everyone would try to work together. People may set up their own communities, and friends and families would band together. Furthermore, immigration would be at an all-time high. The government, while it exists, would most likely do little to ban migration. People in the affected areas would definitely need to move to safer places. You’ve seen what the hurricanes have done to Puerto Rico; imagine if they were bombed. An estimated 1.5 million of their just over 3 million inhabitants would be severely injured, 500,000 would die, and the remaining 1 million would suffer long-term from radiation. The survivors would have very few options, and they will be forced to go wherever they can seek safety.